Over 50 years, the Environment Victoria community has achieved some incredible things. We helped develop world-leading water conservation laws in the 1970s. We campaigned to create the Alpine National Park in the 80s, and to improve public transport in the 90s.
In the 2000s we pioneered sustainability programs for multicultural communities, and we worked with Traditional Owners and community groups to secure more water for the Murray River.
Since 2006, we’ve been campaigning to replace Victoria’s dirty coal-burning power stations like Hazelwood with clean energy from the sun and wind.
Click through recent successes below, or scroll down to see three big wins for each of our campaign areas, Safe Climate, Healthy Rivers, Sustainable Living and Organised Communities.
If you’re a real history buff, you can click here to see wins for each year all the way back to 1969!
In the early 2000s, Environment Victoria established that Hazelwood was the least efficient power station in Australia - and one of the dirtiest in the world.
Since then, we've been campaigning to replace Hazelwood with clean energy like wind and solar, while also supporting the Latrobe Valley community to develop new sustainable industries.
Hazelwood closed in March 2017. We helped secure more than $300 million in state and federal government funding to support the Latrobe Valley through this transition.
In December 2015 we participated in hearings for the second Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry. Other than the mine operators and the state government we were the only party to the proceedings.
The inquiry's final report included many of the points made by our legal team, including a significant increase in mine rehabilitation bonds. All of the inquiry's recommendations were adopted by the Andrews government.
Working with other environment and community groups, we helped secure an ambitious Victorian Renewable Energy Target from the Andrews government.
By 2020, 25 percent of Victoria's electricity will come from clean renewable energy. By 2025, that will rise to 40 percent.
The target is expected to support 5400 megawatts (MW) of new projects and create more than 4000 new jobs in the renewable energy sector by 2024.
The 2016 Victorian state budget announced $220 million in funding for improving river health over the next four years. This includes an extra $30 million to get livestock off riverbanks following our successful ‘Cut the Crap!’ campaign in 2014 and 2015.
'Our Rivers, Our Lifeblood' is an innovative web-based atlas of Victoria’s rivers providing an easily accessible and concise summary of the state of all Victorian rivers and their conservation priorities.
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan became law in November 2012. Thanks to the public pressure exerted all over the country, 3200 billion litres of water was secured for our strained river systems.
In 2014, we successfully campaigned to save the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET) from being scrapped. The target supports households and businesses by providing a rebate to install energy-saving equipment such as LED lighting, insulation and weather seals. In 2015, the Victorian government increased the target.
Running from 2013 to 2016, our Future Powered Families project helped low-income households save energy, particularly migrant and refugee families. Reaching 6100 people, Future Powered Families was a finalist in the 2016 Premier’s Sustainability Awards.
In 2015 we launched four business partnerships to help our supporters put their money where their morals are.
Through these partnerships we have shifted tens of millions of dollars away from banks that invest in damaging coal and gas projects. We've also helped Victorians choose a cleaner power company, install solar panels at home and upgrade to energy-efficient LED lights.
In the lead-up to the 2016 federal election on 2 July, 385 Environment Victoria volunteers campaigned in two Victorian marginal seats, Deakin (around Ringwood and Mitcham) and Dunkley (around Frankston).
Together we had thousands of conversations with undecided voters, collected pledges to "vote environment", handed out scorecards, met with local candidates, held community stalls and so much more.
We delivered a HUGE community campaign in the lead-up to the November 2014 state election.
We built and maintained relationships with local MPs who depend on community support to keep their seats in Parliament. Our incredible volunteers are now maintaining pressure in targeted, strategic areas. It's about building long-term support for our environment in the places that decide state and federal elections.
Since 2014, we've trained and supported more than 500 volunteers to speak up for our environment and climate in their local area.
Whether it's phoning their MP, holding street stalls, door-knocking the neighbourhood or hosting events, these incredible volunteers are building a level of support for our precious environment that politicians just can’t ignore.